14: Crossroads (II)

Rei – Snivy

 

I cringed as I saw just how packed the restaurant was. At first glance, pretty much every seat was taken. Even the entrance was hard to get through—we were constantly walled off by cluster upon cluster of Pokemon gathering around something. Or somebody. Couldn’t tell at all—the two of us were too short to peek over the crowd.

“Excuse us! Sorry! Pardon us!” Ichi repeated as he tried to cut through, searching for a good spot. He huffed. “Nobody told me Swanna House would be full today… I just wanted to eat…”

“What’s with the big gathering anyway?”

“I dunno!” He threw his paws up in the air, accidentally smacking a Ducklett who looked to be unlucky enough to be bussing tables that day. “Oh crap, sorry!”

The bird glared at him before waddling over to one of the other tables to drop off their food. Somehow he hadn’t dropped his tray at all as he sifted through the crowd—it gave me a bit of respect for waiters like him, honestly. Must be either sheer luck or incredible skill.

“…why don’t we eat at home?” I asked. “Come on, we just got our house built! We could’ve cooked breakfast or something!”

“Well… er…” He tried to come up with an excuse. “We don’t have any ingredients at home! Besides, I’m a crappy cook…”

“I’m not waiting several hours to eat breakfast, Ichi. Can’t we buy stuff from Kecleon’s?”

“…well we’re already in too deep, Rei! Literally! It was exhausting just to get in!”

“You didn’t think about it when we walked in, did you?”

“Nope!” He grinned.

 

Eventually we found a table with two empty seats not too far from the main attraction. That isn’t to say the whole table was clear, though. Two other Pokemon were sitting across from the vacant spots—a brown dog with rocks stuck in her white neck fur, and that same pink rabbit with big floppy ears I saw not too long ago at the store. The bunny curiously stared at the commotion, whereas the mutt grumbled to herself with her head and paws on the table.

“Man… should’ve gotten here even earlier. Can hardly see her unless I stand up on the table or somethin’!” the dog complained.

“I can see quite clearly,” said the rabbit, and his(?) friend snickered. “Hm?”

“Nothing, nothing. Just funny hearing you say that when you got those squinty eyes.” She waved her paw dismissively.

I looked at Ichi. “…ehh… Is it really fine to go up to strangers and ask to sit with them?”

“Of course! I bet it’ll be fine. They sound like they struggled to find a good place too. Beggars can’t be choosers, Rei!”

I sighed. “If you say so…” I followed the Pikachu. I really don’t get how Ichi has the guts to talk to people so easily. I suppose charisma and smooth talk are good skills to have when you’re venturing into business. They’re good life skills in general. Skills I definitely don’t have.

Skills I want.

“Excuse me!” Ichi got the pair’s attention. “Mind if we sit here? We’ve been looking all over for a table.”

The dog looked around, glancing at all the other tables. “…sheesh, this place really is packed.”

“Of course you can sit with us! I don’t mind.” The bunny gave us a warm smile. “Stella, what about you?”

She shrugged. “If you guys got nowhere else, fine.”

“Great! Thanks, Audino!” Ichi eagerly hopped up onto a seat. I did the same, eyeing the two Pokemon seated in front of us. “Name’s Ichi. And that’s Rei.”

“Nice to meet you! My name’s Aiden.” The ‘Audino’ nodded.

“…name’s Stella.” The dog quietly huffed as she made another attempt to get a good look at whatever everybody was going crazy over. She didn’t look very interested in us at first.

“So, are you also here to see the Verdant Sword?” Aiden asked.

“…what? A sword?” I gave him a confused stare.

“You don’t know who the Verdant Sword is?” Stella scoffed. “What the hell are you doing here for, then?”

“To eat? This is a restaurant, isn’t it?” I rolled my eyes. “I just wanted breakfast, dammit…”

“Didn’t come here just to get some grub… Came here to see my idol!” Stella exclaimed before her stomach audibly grumbled. “…okay, and get some grub, I guess.”

“Well, we left right as I was cooking breakfast at home…” Aiden sighed, before taking a look at the menu. “…oh well.”

“Yeah, sorry… I was so excited, okay?” Her tail wagged. “…you, uh, put out the stove, right?”

“I… think?”

Stella just looked at the Audino for a few seconds, before shrugging it off.

“Oh, a Solo’s here. That makes much more sense.” Ichi crossed his arms, changing the subject. “Yeah, I don’t really follow the rescuer fandom very much. Didn’t know one of ‘em was gonna show up here.” He chuckled. “Getting through the crowd was hell for us.”

“This guy almost made one of the waiters spill somebody’s order.” I laughed. I didn’t bother questioning what a Solo was. I knew I could just ask Ichi later.

“By accident, Rei! And besides, it almost happened! It didn’t actually happen!”

Stella snickered.

“You didn’t know Virizion was visiting Post Town? It’s been the talk of the town all week,” Aiden said.

“Has it?” Ichi put a hand to his chin, looking like he was trying to sift through his mind. “…okay yeah, maybe I did hear it once or twice in passing.” He sighed. “Welp, too late now. We’re here anyway, might as well enjoy the show while we eat breakfast.”

“Is it supposed to be a show?” I stood on top of my chair, and I could almost make out a green deer-like Pokemon in the center of the crowd’s attention. She was talking with somebody sitting across from her, giggling at their comments while ignoring the onlookers. The sea of people shifted like waves, obscuring my view of her.

“It’s not supposed to be. Dunno what the hell is wrong with all these people, honestly.” The pup was openly disgusted at the noisy gathering. “You can just go and say hi to her and leave it at that—that’s what I was planning on doing! Not circle all around her and worship her with Baby-Doll Eyes!”

“What, do you think you’re better than these other guys or something?”

“Well, I’m not being a nuisance like them, so I’d say so, honestly.” She turned to the Audino. “Are all rescuer fans in the Mist like this?”

“From what I’ve seen, it’s mainly the… attractive ones that get this much attention.” Aiden sheepishly nodded.

“Oh, of course,” she sneered. “It’s kinda like that in the Grass too, but at least we’re all not up in her face about it.”

“…Grass?” I tilted my head.

“Grass Continent,” she responded. “Came from all the way over there.”

“Just to see Virizion?” Ichi asked.

“‘Course not. I got my reasons. The Verdant Sword just so happened to show up at the same time. Lucky me.”

“Where are you two from?” Aiden looked at us. “I haven’t seen you two around before.”

“Um…”

“We’re both from the Air!” Ichi quickly half-truthed in my stead. “Moved here about a week ago. We’re partners!” He boasted.

“…business partners!” the Pikachu added, realizing the implications. “Not those kinds of partners. N-not that there’s anything wrong with that! Um…”

Aiden raised an eyebrow, whereas Stella cackled again. “Yeah, I get what you mean,” said the dog. “So what, are you two traveling businessmon?”

“Nope. I have this dream, you see—”

I talked over the rat, giving them a TL;DR. “He bought a big plot of land right outside Post Town and wants to capitalize on it.” 

“…what he said,” Ichi grumbled.

“I don’t think they wanna hear your life story, Ichi.”

 

“Oh?” Aiden’s big, floppy ears twitched, and his attention shifted back to the Verdant Sword’s circle of simps. “…I hear murmurs of… a Dunsparce slithering up to Virizion…” He stood up from his seat. “Is Danny really going to do this?”

I scoffed. “You can make out what they’re saying? It’s too loud to tell.”

“Audino ears,” he said simply.

“…okay?” Do you expect me to know what that means? I thought.

“I swear to Jirachi, is that guy seriously trying to get with her with a silly gem?” Stella grumbled, hopping up onto the table, ignoring the napkins and salt shakers and whatnot as she stood on top to get a good look. “…dammit, I can’t see.”

“I could try holding you up… or you can sit on my head, perhaps?” Aiden suggested.

“…no,” she paused before declining and hopping back down. “I’ll find a way into the crowd—this I gotta see.”

“O-oh, um… good luck!” Aiden watched her run off as he tried to clean up the mess she made.

“…fuck it, I wanna check this out too.” I got out of my seat. “Wanna come with, Ichi?”

“The waiter could come back any second to take our order though.”

“Just get me whatever.” I shrugged before following the dog.

“Okay…”

“…so you said you two are business partners?” I heard Aiden ask.

“Wanna hear more?” I didn’t know for sure—I was about to dive back into the crowd—but I could imagine Ichi had a cheeky grin on his face, eager to talk about his dream.

 

“Ahh! I can hardly stand it!” “Lady Virizion’s as beautiful as ever…” “She’s as pretty as the rumors say!” Up close, I could make out the audience’s cheers. They were… something, that’s for sure.

“Outta the way!” Stella pushed through the audience. She was a lot more aggressive in getting past everybody than Ichi was. I simply stuck right behind her as she shoved out a path. I stayed silent as we passed by all the complaints.

“Notice me, Lady Virizion!!” A brown chipmunk Pokemon next to us squeaked right in our faces, and I flinched.

“Ugh, will you shut up?” the dog growled as she pushed him aside. “Move it!”

We made our way to the front of the crowd just in time to see a tiny yellow snake with little wings and a stinger for a tail slither up to the “Verdant Sword”. I assumed this was that Danny Aiden mentioned, the Dunsparce. He was carrying a blue shiny gem, wrapped tightly around his tail.

Virizion was looking down at him, curious of what he had to say. Across her table was, strangely enough, Mr. Gurdurr, of all people. He must’ve been the one she was chatting with earlier. He and his Timburr lackeys were uncharacteristically enamored by her beauty, too distracted to pay any mind to the Dunsparce.

“Miss Virizion… erm…” The little guy seemed to have stage fright.

“…yes?” 

“Um, well…” He fumbled with both his words and the gem. “T-this is for you!” he exclaimed, mustering up the courage to present it to her. He set it down on the ground and nudged it toward her. “This crystal is for you, Miss Virizion!”

A chorus of oohs resonated in the crowd. A few chuckles here and there, too.

“…oh my fucking—seriously?” Stella grimaced as she watched it all unfold. Her gaze quickly shifted, seemingly scanning the room for somebody else. “Where are those other guys he was with…”

“Other guys?” I asked.

“Yeah. This wimpy Dunsparce is a rescuer, believe it or not, and he came in here with his team. A Riolu, a Shinx, and an Emolga.” She rolled her eyes. “Can’t believe they’re actually letting their friend embarrass himself like this… I’m just curious as to whether they’re laughing their asses off at him too or if they’re actually trying to help him. Expecting the former.”

I silently nodded. I’d expect the same too, I thought. My eyes wandered for a moment. At least they’re Pokemon I actually know, heh. Riolu is, like, one of the most common Pokemon I see out there on the Internet. Must be popular.

And within seconds it was easy for me to spot the iconic blue bipedal dog. Staring back at me with green eyes like daggers right as mine locked onto his. He had some kind of scrutinizing gaze as if he was analyzing my every move.

I flinched. How long has he been staring at me? After about a solid three seconds of looking at each other, watching him blink a lot for some reason (were his eyes dry?) I hastily shifted my attention away from the creepy canine and back to the main “show”.

 

Ironically, Virizion and Danny were also engaging in their own staring contest—the deer was absolutely speechless as she stared at the snake and his present, and not in a good way.

“…I… um…” The Dunsparce stammered even more, before finally exclaiming, “…please let me be your friend, Miss Virizion!!”

“…excuse me?” Virizion scoffed with a confused smile.

Stella and I had the exact same reaction as her. “…that’s not what I expected he’d ask for.”

“Took the words right outta my mouth,” I replied. 

Whispers and murmurs grew even louder as the crowd witnessed the yellow snake embarrass himself. “Is this little guy for real?” “He must’ve splurged all his cash on that thing.” “He’s got guts, that’s for sure.”

The Verdant Sword just sighed, narrowing her eyes. “…look, kid, I get approached by scrawny little guys like you all the time, asking the same thing, and my answer is always gonna stay the same. No.” She nudged the gem back to him with her hoof. 

“W-w-what?” Danny’s jaw dropped, as if he wasn’t expecting the most likely response to happen.

“I appreciate the gesture, but sorry buddy. I don’t make friends. Besides, I know you’re after more than just ‘friendship’.” She stared down at him with a judging gaze. “If you were strong, then I might consider you an ally. But, well… you aren’t very strong, are you?”

Her words looked like they cut straight through the Dunsparce, like a sword. I wondered if that was how she got that name. “I-I… I-I’m sorry!” he mumbled while trembling, about to break into tears.

The crowd erupted into laughter. Stella couldn’t help it either. I almost broke into laughter too but held it back. Just didn’t feel right to laugh… 

I looked around, covering my mouth with my hand as I nearly snickered. Everybody was laughing their asses off except for this black and white squirrel—Emolga, I’m pretty sure—that marched up to Virizion, furious. The rodent seemed to come from the same group as the weird Riolu—I put two and two together and guessed that was the team Stella mentioned.

“Ugh, come on Danny… just drop it, man.” He tried to comfort his friend, then glared at the green deer. “…you’re heartless, Miss Sword. You could’ve at least been polite about rejecting my friend! You could’ve just accepted the damn gem and left it at that, y’know!”

“Never call me Miss Sword again, that’s worse than Verdant Sword…” she grumbled. “And I tried to be as polite as I could.”

“No you didn’t. Give my friend a chance, will ya? He worked so hard to get that gem for you!” He clenched his fists, sparks crackling a little around his yellow cheeks. Reminded me of Ichi.

“Taking a trip to Stony Cave is not some incredible feat. I recognize this gem, it’s very, very common in these parts.”

“…come on, buddy. Let’s get outta here.” Emolga picked up the gem, gave Virizion another scowl, and led his sobbing friend through the crowd. For once, the sea of Pokemon actually made way for them, albeit pointing and laughing at the same time. Riolu and Shinx followed suit shortly after, all four of them exiting the restaurant.

 

The audience had finally dispersed after that scene. With the show done, Stella and I returned to our seats. Ichi had already ordered for me—he got me a cinnamon roll and a cup of coffee, which I wasn’t complaining about. 

“It was the funniest shit ever—can you believe just how desperate guys are in the Mist?? Haha!” Stella was howling hysterically. “Er, no offense, Aiden!” She looked to her friend… or rather, where he was sitting. “…wait, where’s Aiden?”

“He left as soon as he heard Danny burst into tears and crawled out of Swanna House. Think he went to go comfort him.” Ichi scratched the back of his neck.

“Oh right. He said he was friends with the little guy, I think. I was laughin’ so hard I didn’t notice, haha…” She finally stopped cackling. “…fuck, now I’m startin’ to feel a little bad.”

“She’s been laughing her ass off ever since we sat back down…” I grumbled to myself. Starting to get annoying. I didn’t bother speaking up about how messed up it kinda was. He just wanted to be her friend, didn’t he? Despite the implications of trying to “befriend” somebody with a gift like a sparkling blue gem. Besides, that Emolga did the speaking up for me.

“…hope he doesn’t take too long, hehe… Was kinda hoping my food would be on him. I’m short on cash.” She grinned.

“That’s what you’re worried about?” I narrowed my eyes.

“…oh Mew, don’t tell me imma have to pay for all four of us.” Ichi frowned, tapping his foot.

“THAT’S WHAT YOU’RE—scratch that, I should’ve expected that outta you.”

“I-I’m back! Sorry about that…” Speak of the devil—the Audino was hustling back to our table, sitting back down with a huff.

“So… is Dunsparce okay?” Ichi asked.

“…honestly, not really… I don’t think he’ll be okay for a while after what Virizion said to him…” Aiden had a pensive look.

Stella was quick to defend her idol, or at the very least try to. “…o-okay, yeah, maybe the Verdant Sword was a little too harsh, but…” 

“But?” I looked at the mutt.

“…can’t come up with anything. Shit.” Stella’s ears drooped. “The guy wasn’t even that creepy about it…. I-I still think Virizion’s a cool rescuer, though!”

“Still trying to convince yourself?”

“…ugh, whatever! I thought meeting my idol would be a fun experience… guess this is why people always say never to meet your heroes.”

“Oh!” Aiden suddenly piped up, the subject suddenly changing. “I almost forgot!” He looked at me. “When I talked to the Aces… Cole asked me if I saw a Snivy.”

“…who the heck is Cole?” Ichi asked. 

“A Riolu, he’s their leader.” As soon as Aiden uttered that species’ name, I groaned. The weirdo who stared at me earlier?

“Eh? What’s up, Rei?” The Pikachu glanced at me.

“Nothing, nothing. So what does this Cole want?”

“He wants to talk with you.”